


Three Words, Repeated

by Freudianity



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst and Feels, Frottage, M/M, Pre-Canon, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 19:32:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6766984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freudianity/pseuds/Freudianity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Jack told Kent he loved him, and one time he didn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Words, Repeated

The first time Jack says it, it's after their first truly excellent game. Kent scores three goals (Jack assists twice), and Jack scores two goals (Kent assists both). At the end of the game they're buzzing, they whirl each other round in glee, shouting in each other's faces:

"HOLY SHIT, can you believe-"

"-we just kicked so much ass?"

"That last shot was incredible-"

"What about that one THROUGH TWO GUYS' LEGS-"

"I fucking LOVE you-"

Jack clamps his jaw shut straight away, and thanks God his face is already flushed red from the game, because his blushes are unforgiving. Kent just laughs, and points at the stands, where Bob is trying to clamber onto the ice with a giant foam finger, only restrained by his struggling wife. Jack yells and skates over, determined to save the Zimmermann name some dignity, but gets caught in a family hug - which Kent gatecrashes at high speed.

This is what he plays for.

 

_X_

 

Jack will swear blind he didn't plan for this to happen again, but really, nobody could seriously expect Kent to sit through a documentary on Operation Market Garden without finding a way to distract himself. Which is how he's ended up half-naked, pinned to the bed, as Kent leaves a trail of red marks down his chest. He reaches Jack's fly, and meets his eyes with a questioning glance. "Do us together," Jack gasps. Kent smirks, and Jack wants to kiss it off his face - but soon it's gone, both men panting heavily, as Kent pumps them both near to the finish.

Jack feels the world shift around him, inside him, as he slips over the edge, and for a few seconds he loses everything that's not Kent - his face, his touch, his moans. As the room returns around him, he can feel himself saying something, but whatever it is gets pushed away as he feels Kent's grip on his cock tighten, then go slack, as the spurt hits his stomach.

A while later, cleaned up somewhat and tangled in each other's arms, Kent turns to him, and that smug look - "So, does je t'aime mean what I think it means?"

In lieu of a better answer, Jack kisses the smirk off Kent's face.

 

_X_

 

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and Jack Zimmermann is being personally victimised by Kent Parson.

"No."

"C'mooooon."

"Absolutely not."

"But I made it just for you!"

"I am not wearing-" - Jack tries to hold Kent off - "-a fucking daisy chain."

"You'll look so pretty," Kent whines, flailing at his face. Jack pulls him into a headlock, and the two struggle for dominance for a few seconds before Kent lets out an anguished wail. On the blanket beneath them are the flattened remnants of the finest daisy chain in history.

Kent picks up a couple of the pieces, sighing glumly, "Why must you destroy everything I love?"

Jack grins. "I haven't destroyed myself," he points out helpfully. Kent gags, so he continues, "What, don't you love me?", clambering over him.

"Get off, you fucking dweeb," protests Kent, who is really not struggling as hard as he could.

Jack pins him down. "Because I think I remember you loving me", he continues, planting kisses on Kent's neck, "and I know I love YOU, so it'd be awfully convenient."

"Jesus, Zimms, you're sickening," but Kent is laughing, so Jack leans down and claims a long, lazy kiss from him. For a moment, there are no worries.

 

_X_

 

Jack is thinking about the word "fair".

He's learning that "fair" can mean different things on different scales. It would not be fair to let one team sign up both of the best players in junior hockey. That's what the draft is for - to divvy up the talent among the franchises. Everyone gets their chance.

Kent stirs slightly in his arms. Jack kisses his bare shoulder, and nuzzles into the base of his neck.

But that means he's going to have to sleep without Kent. Eat without Kent. Live without Kent.

Play without Kent.

Everyone makes such a big deal out of The Dream Team, Zimms and Parse, unstoppable together, but nobody seems to realise what this means, that they're a package, together they're so much better, so apart they're so much worse, and everyone is going to KNOW-

"Jack?"

He snaps back to himself. Kent shifts, turning to face him. "Sshh, it's ok. You're fine. I'm here."

"Kenny." Jack buries his head in Kent's chest, feels him nuzzle into the top of his hair, listens to his heartbeat, breathes with him. "Love you."

"Love you too, dingus. Try to sleep."

The draft is in ten days.

This isn't fair.

 

_X_

 

He leaves a message on Kent's voicemail, after the pills go down. He thinks afterwards, that was the last time I'll tell him that I love him.

He's right.

 

_X_

 

The Aces are playing in Montreal tonight. It's the first time Kent has been back since then.

He doesn't know what he's expecting when he goes to the Zimmermanns' house. Bob and Alicia are thrilled to see him, and they catch up over coffee for an hour or so. They don't talk about Jack.

At a lull in the conversation, Bob and Alicia exchange a glance, and Bob sighs. "Jack's in his room," he says, "and you're welcome to try." "Good luck, honey," adds Alicia.

Jack opens his door just before Kent knocks. "Hey," he says. The last time Kent heard him speak was on a voicemail.

He looks like shit. He's lost weight, but it's more than that. Even on his worst days, Jack always wore the potential for a smile on his face, waiting to bloom. But the face in front of him is hard and tired. Kent can't help but wonder if it's his presence, or if that's just Jack's face now.

Jack's still standing in the doorway. "Hey," Kent says back, for lack of anything better to say. "How're you doing?"

Jack shrugs. "I've been worse." (Kent can't believe that THIS is an IMPROVEMENT.) "You're doing pretty well though. Three points in your first game."

"You watched?"

"Highlights. Looks like you've proved everyone right. Congrats."

Do you think that any of that horseshit matters next to you?, Kent doesn't say.

I'd quit right now if it meant you'd smile, Kent doesn't say.

"I love you," Kent says, and it's the wrong thing to say.

Jack inhales, pauses, and says, "Good luck on the game tonight," before closing the door.

Kent gets three points.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr](http://samwellgotyourback.tumblr.com)


End file.
